The Kings Bluff Raw Water
Pump Station is owned by the Lower Cape Fear Water & Sewer
Authority and is operated under contract with the Brunswick County Public Utilities
Department. The original pump station design, located in Bladen County, included
three (3) 1000 horsepower (HP) vertical turbine raw water
pumps with one being a diesel pump in case of loss of electrical
power. The raw water supply from the Cape Fear River to the
pump station was provided via three (3) Johnson screens on
the bottom of the river behind Lock and Dam #1 with a 48
inch intake pipeline to the station with a pumping capacity
of 45 million gallons per day (MGD). The 1984 construction
phase also included approximately 14 miles of a 48 inch transmission
line and a three million (3MG) storage reservoir to maintain
pressure in the system. The purpose was to provide a raw
water supply to Brunswick County's Northwest Water Treatment
plant with a capacity of 24 MGD built during the same period
of time. An extension of the 48 inch transmission line (to
include a 60 inch section) approximately 10 miles to US Highway
421 was completed in 1992. This construction phase added
the City of Wilmington, Praxair and Invista to the Authority's
customer base.
In 2002, the Authority secured two (2) diesel powered 2.7 megawatt generators to provide backup
power capabilities to the station, enclosed in a separate building, to provide a reliable and
uninterrupted water service to its customers 24/7/365.
In 2007-2008, the Authority expanded
the size of the Kings Bluff Raw Water Pump Station by adding
two (2) additional wet wells and purchasing three (3) 1600
HP vertical turbine raw water pumps with variable frequency
drive electric motors. Each of the new pumps have a capacity
of 32 MGD. The expansion included a state of the art electrical
building and a new control room for operators with amenities.
In 2010, the Authority placed three
(3) additional Johnson screens in the Cape Fear River
connected to a new 60 inch intake pipeline leading to the new
wet well location to provide a
combined 100 MG raw water supply to the pump station. This supply
is provided to the County
of Brunswick, the Cape Fear Public Utility
Authority, Praxair
and Invista. Pender County is
expected to be connected to the transmission line in 2012.
